This years 7th Annual Chasing Ghosts artists reveal their attraction to the hidden, the unsaid, and the shadow
Adam Strange
"My work is made in the “Age of Anxiety” where truth and lies are indistinguishable, issues and attitudes are binary, and the perils of conflict and intimacy result in the separation of the self from the physical. These visual narratives are sojourns where time and memory, feelings and perspectives, manifest as physical places or situations showing the “Essentia” - the world as it really is."
Adam Strange
Renee Kelly
"When we share a truer version of the truth by expressing the unseen, we
can better understand ourselves and each other, help others know they
are not alone in the dark places, and give voice and realness to once
silenced and hidden truths."
Renee Kelly
Leona Gamble
"I am ever fascinated and driven to explore in my art, the inner psyche of the human experience, and our bodies, in the spaces that we are experiencing all of these possibilities in. “Continuous” is delving into several points on the continuous circle of infinity, the ebb and flow, the life cycle of a body, while holding some of those possibilities in the figures hand, symbolized by the egg yolk- a beginning and an end in itself. Both the bones and the figure are surrounded by a circle, one side of ash and one of crushed egg shells. The figure is mirrored by the small bird and animal bones on the left canvas. All of the possibilities exist around us at any moment, and I find it just out of reach in my perceptions of this world, but almost tangible, this element of being able to tap into and perceive the possibilities of everything in any one moment of time. The beginnings and endings of possibilities and every point on a circle."
Leona Gamble
Earl Grenville Killeen
"Past and Future are shadow places, haunted by my memory of personal loss and my dread of impending loss that transcends the merely personal — the end of the biosphere as we know it. “The Last Bird” embodies my sense of loneliness, isolation, and hopelessness . . . and yet, I hope, also conveys my love of the fragile beauty of it all."
Earl Grenville Killeen
"The Last Bird" by Earl Grenville Killeen flanked by his "End of Days"
Susana Berdecio
"Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings." Jane Jacobs
"I am drawn to photographing abandoned structures. Mostly, I like to see how nature reclaims these structures. "Escape" is the inside of one of these structures. The emptiness was palpable in the soft light as though even the ghosts had vanished, leaving room for new ideas. Slowly, the structure will be reclaimed."
Susana Berdecio
Georgiana Nehl
"At the permeable boundary between the material and ethereal world lives a curious land of Light – conscious movement is one of its doors." Georgiana Nehl
Rachel Dawson
"I work with materials and processes in a metaphorical way. I find connections to art and the making of art with psychic processes and exploring the invisible. Residue, transformation, and energy are all investigated through a range of materials. Specter comes from a collection of mixed-media works that combine the metaphors of light and translucency with the nebulous and smoke-like representation of an apparition. The process of making Specter involved spraying paint over fabric on top of a sheet of translucent vellum, back-lighting, and then taking a photograph. Like a ghost, or coming from another dimension, this gestural record looks almost as though it belongs in another dimension or is documentation of a spiritual encounter."
Rachel Dawson
Hyoungseok Kim
"There are communications and connections between all things in the universe. According to the theory of modern physics, these communications and connections can be dealt with, not only in terms of spiritual or psychological dimensions, but rather in the dimension of physical reality. As a result of the connections and communications on a physical level, we are participating in a natural and holistic system of the world."
Hyoungseok Kim
Bob Conge
"There is a darkness in the character of Homo-Sapiens. Perhaps it is what Nietzsche referred to as “the Abyss” or the truth of the 1954 novel “Lord Of The Flies” by William Golding. Oskar Kokoschka said “We have to become human every day”, implying if not we will slip back into the animal we were at birth. In my work I choose to shine a light on that darkness as a reminder to become human today."
Bob Conge
David Carmack Lewis
"I’m not interested in creating images that are simply dark, morbid or grim. But I’m even less interested in bright cheery optimism. Everything that interests me lurks in the twilight between these two, where the ominous seems alluring or beauty is suffused with a subtle sorrow."
"Some of the most extraordinary moments in my life occurred when a deep and profound sorrow gave way to, or even accompanied a giddy sense of wonder and joy. I can nerve fully separate the two. Both are essential."
David Carmack Lewis
Rebecca Gabriel
Collage for Mother
As her life slips
Into the eddy of eternity,
Her visage is etched in the swirling waters,
Which churn like the amniotic fluid that once held me,
Your daughter about to be born.
If only I could reach
Through the fluidity of time
Pull you back.
Instead, a broken pencil
Carves the initials of your face
Into this rended paper-
Pinned to my chest.
Rebecca Gabriel
”Chasing Ghosts” has given me the courage and venue to share these ineffable feelings. I like to think that this exhibition may provide solace; as well an opportunity for these deeply personal works to emerge, and, perhaps, resonate with others."
Rebecca Gabriel
Lawrence Pritchard
The following poem by Emily Dickinson offers some witty insight on how to frame societal expectations placed on all of us at one time or another, especially those who answer an artistic calling.
Much Madness is divinest Sense - To a discerning Eye - Much Sense - the starkest Madness - ’Tis the Majority In this, as all, prevail - Assent - and you are sane - Demur - you’re straightway dangerous - And handled with a Chain -
Shared by Lawrence Pritchard
Pennie Fien
"Louise Bourgeois said “Art is restoration; the idea is to repair the damages that are inflicted in life, to make something that is fragmented-which is what fear and anxiety do to a person-into something whole”.
She inspired me to create this tribute with her bravery to travel to her dark places where she found beauty and comfort where others would find ugliness and distress."
Pennie Fien
Karen Hightower
"A piece can pull you in and make you feel & see something unique every time.
What a freeing joy I find in creating!"
Karen Hightower
Dawn Hunter
"The hard things and the hidden things" are often where the most profound truths lie. Eighty-eight years after Santiago Ramón y Cajal's death, he continues to inspire both scientists and artists with the life that he led. I'm drawn to exploring his life, work, and the physical environment in which he lived because I believe that by doing so, we can come to a deeper understanding of his philosophy and why he continues to inspire future generations." Dawn Hunter
Lisa Frederick
"In a lot of my photographic works, I strive to show hope and some form of beauty in the old and forgotten."
Lisa Frederick
Jean-Paul Aboudib
"For as long as I can remember, I have had a gravitational attraction to the human form. It’s seductive curvature and intrinsic expression is one of the earliest forms of communicating ideas, emotions and even language. My work examines the interplay between what the human experience conceals and reveals. Through The falling of light which exposes the vulnerability of the flesh, The articulation of form as it collapses into the softness of receding shadows and the residual state of melancholy which hounds the human condition, I hope to bring the viewer to a closer connection with my subjects."
Jean-Paul Aboudib
Kathy Knapp
"I was inspired to create this piece and to this art call in tribute to my late mother, who I was unable to visit during the pandemic.Tragically, when travel was again possible, her health declined precipitously and I scarcely had time to say goodbye. I attempted to express my connection to her through use of a rose printed textile in the background and funerary floral vine, embellished with buttons deconstructed from a bracelet I had given her. The work is also in sympathy to countless others who share a similar experience."
Kathy Knapp
Debra Buchanan
"There are times in our lives when sorrow surrounds us. Creativity has always been my path to through such times. After my significant other of almost forty years passed away, even though I feel his presence every day, I wanted something physical to commemorate him and our time together. That is how the concept for this painting originated. Every time I look at this painting, memories flood my mind and I find comfort in the memories of good times. Since my parents and siblings have also passed, I will be creating a series of “ode to” paintings."
Debra Buchanan
Britt Block